This Hubble Space Telescope photo shows two galaxies NGC7752 and NGC7753 interacted as one object called Arp86 220 million light years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus.
According to the European Space Agency, the Hubble Space Telescope captured a pair "squabbling," galaxies in action.
Arp 86 is the name of the pair of objects. It includes two galaxies that are approximately 220 million light years from Earth, in the constellation Pegasus. These objects are individually known as NGC7753 and NGC7752, respectively.
ESA officials released a statement regarding the new research, saying that "the diminutive companion galaxy almost appears to be attached to NGC7753."
The added said that NGC 7752 will eventually be tossed into intergalactic space by the gravitational dance between them.
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This view shows the complete view of the interacting galaxies in Arp 86, as seen through the Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA Dark Energy Survey, J. Dalcanton
The Hubble Space Telescope observations were made to provide information on the role of cold gas in the formation of the young stars seen in the image. ESA stated that the observatory looked at star clusters and gas clouds, as well as dust clouds, in several locations in the vicinity, including galaxies not within Arp 86.
The space telescope's work was combined with measurements from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a set of telescopes in the Chilean Andes optimized to peer through galactic dust in young systems. The research team is looking for more information on how stars form using ALMA and Hubble.
This research will also help with future work of the James Webb Space Telescope (which is scheduled to launch in 2021) to study the origins and evolution of the universe. ESA announced that Webb will look at dusty galaxies, such as Arp 86, to learn more about star formation.
